Remember my post about the High Cost of 401K Accounts? My blog must have a wider reach than I realize, because someone at the trust company took my advice, and I received a check in the mail.

Evidently, someone decided it was time to cash out my 401K and send me the proceeds. I was dismayed to learn that Federal tax was withheld, chewing up a third of my account’s value. And I didn’t request the distribution.

The notice said that the “distribution is based on the value of your account as of 4/19/10.” The check amount was for 2¢ and the Federal tax withheld was 1¢.

(If you’re scratching your head, the background on this account and the advice I gave is explained in High Cost of 401K Accounts.)

Evidently, someone finally noticed the low balance or added an edit to their monitoring program. Hey, it only took 3 years.

My favorite part of the notice was this statement:

You may be able to rollover your taxable amount to an IRA. If you have any questions, please contact our financial advisory department.